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Definitions

Physical environment – the material and tangible conditions in which we live

Physical environment includes

• Natural environment – air, noise, water, greenspace
• Built environment – houses, roads, transport systems, buildings, infrastructure
  (Built environment includes internal environment and external environment.)
• Socio-economic and Cultural – the social and economic characteristics of the societies and communities in which we live

Effect on health

The physical environment is an important determinant of health influencing the prospects of health in many ways. Air quality affects people’s health and especially that of people with respiratory disease. Infectious disease may be transmitted through water. Quality of housing affects many aspects of people’s health. The attractiveness of the environment influences people’s readiness to be physically active and to socialise with their neighbours. Toxic materials in the environment can cause disease and interfere with development. Road design and transport systems affect the risk of accidents. Access to green space is good for mental health.

Greenhouse gases and climate change

One important way in which man is damaging his environment is through emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The rise in carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is resulting in global warming and climate change. Unless we drastically reduce the weight of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere the ability of the planet to support life will be seriously damaged. The government has therefore set a target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80% by 2050.

The NHS has to play its part and is following a strategy to reduce the carbon emissions resulting from NHS activity.

• Community Health Profiles: Environment
  Health Profiles provide a snapshot of health for each local council in England using key health indicators, which enables comparison locally, regionally and over time.
  There are two indicators relating to the environment; from the 2008 profiles "Carbon Footprint" and the 2007 profiles included "Air Quality".
• Local Profiles: Environment
  Health statistics for the West Midlands are available from our Local Profiles pages. These include Tranquillity Score with more to follow shortly.

• A clean bill of health: how councils’ environmental protection work improves health (Published June 2010)
  Pollution is a significant factor in ill-health. It reduces life expectancy and it increases health inequalities. A new LGA Group publication makes the point that tackling pollution should be considered alongside other important local health issues such as reducing smoking, healthy eating and exercise. The document ‘A clean bill of health’ summarises for councillors and other local decision makers, the health effects of pollution and what councils and their partners can do to improve the health of their communities. It also gives examples of councils that have put ‘pollution reduction to improve health’, into practice and what else can be done.
• Environmental indicators (Environment agency)
  

  Collection of environmental indicators from the Environment Agency. Learn more about air, water, wildlife, land, pollution, waste and flooding.

  State of the Environment: West Midlands

  The environment of the West Midlands is one of its most valuable assets but is subject to intense pressures including flooding, demand for scarce water resources, land contamination, waste and emissions to air. If action is not taken to protect our environment, lasting damage and permanent change will result.

  These web pages present information about the state of the region's environment, highlighting some of the problems that we are facing.

• NICE guidelines: Physical activity and the environment: Guidance
  Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the promotion and creation of physical environments that support increased levels of physical activity.
• Saving Carbon, Improving Health: NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy for England
  The strategy sets an ambition for the NHS to help drive change towards a low carbon society. The strategy shows the scale of reduction in carbon required for the NHS to progress towards the Climate Change Act requirements and recommends key actions for the NHS to become a leading sustainable and low carbon organisation.
• Sustainable development and wellbeing: relationships, challenges and policy implications
  This report forms Project 3b of DEFRA’s review of evidence for relationships between well-being and sustainable development, undertaken as part of the UK government’s 2005 sustainable development strategy, Securing the Future. It reviews a range of evidence from economics, psychology, epidemiology and other disciplines, highlighting a number of connects and disconnects between well-being and environmental sustainability. It further identifies key challenges and policy implications for a transition towards one-planet living.
• Sustainable development indicators in your pocket: 2009 Edition
  This National Statistics booklet presents and assesses the indicators - measures of everyday concerns including health, housing, jobs, crime, education and our environment.
  It aims to be a useful and accessible reference for experts, to help illustrate the breadth and challenges of sustainable development to those less familiar with the concept, and to encourage readers to find out more.
• Wellbeing and the Natural Environment: A brief overview of the evidence
  ‘Wellbeing’ is receiving much attention by academics, policymakers and practitioners in the UK and abroad. However, little is understood about the wellbeing benefits of the natural environment within the wellbeing literature. This report provides a brief overview of the main literature exploring the links between wellbeing and the natural environment, with a particular focus on contact with green spaces (forests, parks, gardens etc). These will be situated in debates about ecosystems together with broader discussions about how to value the benefits of green spaces to wellbeing. This will be used to provide some guidance on further areas requiring more research.

• Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE)
  CPRE campaigns for a sustainable future for the English countryside, a vital but undervalued environmental, economic and social asset to the nation. They highlight threats and promote positive solutions. Their in-depth research supports active campaigning, and through reasoned argument and lobbying they seek to influence public opinion and decision-makers at every level.
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Climate change and energy (DEFRA)
  Climate change is the greatest environmental challenge facing the world today. Rising global temperatures will bring changes in weather patterns, rising sea levels and increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather. The effects will be felt in the UK; internationally there may be severe problems for people in regions that are particularly vulnerable.
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Environmental Protection (DEFRA)
  The aim of "DEFRA Environmental Protection" is to protect and improve the environment, and to integrate the environment with other policies across Government and in international fora. Effective protection of the environment requires activity on many wide-ranging different fronts - for example, from acting to limit global environmental threats (such as global warming) to safeguarding individuals from the effects of poor air quality or toxic chemicals. Actions to protect the environment also produce benefits such as housing (through improved energy efficiency of buildings), social progress (through action to combat fuel poverty) and economic growth (through more efficient use of resources, such as re-use, recycling and recovery of waste).
• NHS Sustainable Development Unit (NHS SDU)
  The NHS SDU for England is a small unit of seven people in Cambridge who provide leadership, support and policy input to ensure the NHS in England is the leading public sector organisation in promoting sustainable development and mitigating climate change.
• Requirements for sustainable food at meetings and events – notes to caterers
  Catering for meetings and conferences is one area in which organisations can help to reduce their impact on the environment and improve the health and well-being of staff. These guidelines give simple ideas for how we would like to provide healthier options that have a lower impact on the environment and support sustainable local economies.
• Sustainable development Commission
  The Sustainable Development Commission is the Government's independent adviser on sustainable development, reporting to the Prime Minister, the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales and the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. Through advocacy, advice and appraisal, we help put sustainable development at the heart of Government policy.
• Sustainable events guide
  This DEFRA guide has been developed to encourage event organisers to think about the social, economic and environmental impacts from the start of organising their event, both in-house or engaging with contractors.
• Sustrans - Sustainable transport charity
  Sustrans is the UK's leading sustainable transport charity. Their vision is a world in which people choose to travel in ways that benefit their health and the environment. Every day they are working on practical, innovative ways of dealing with the transport challenges that affect us all.
• The Climate Connection
  The Climate Connection is a partnership for public health action on climate change, supported by the Faculty of Public Health, the UK Public Health Association, the Health Protection Agency, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the NHS Sustainable Development Unit and the Department of Health.
• West Midlands Regional Observatory: Environment
  Key facts and figures relating to the environmental issues in the West Midlands region.